Stark discovers that Killian plans to attack President Ellis aboard the Air Force One. Iron Man saves the passengers, but Killian gets away with the President. The plan is to kill the president on television and for Killian to obtain Extremis, an experimental treatment that will cure crippling injuries.
On the rescue mission Iron Man summons all of the new suits he has created and controls them remotely. Iron Man captures an imprisoned Potts who has been injected with Extremis. However she falls to her apparent death; it is later revealed that she can actually survive thanks to the powers given by Extremis. Iron Man traps Killian in another suit that self-destructs. The villain survives but is subsequently killed by Potts' new powers.